California Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing sharp public ridicule from a top federal prosecutor after signing a slate of measures aimed at curbing federal immigration enforcement tools within his state.
According to The Blaze, the Democrat governor has spent years casting himself as a leading antagonist to the Trump administration, a posture widely seen as an effort to burnish his credentials ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid. That strategy was on full display as Newsoms office announced new limits on flash-bang grenades and explosive breaching charges, explicitly targeting their use in immigration operations.
First Assistant United States Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli, however, dismissed the move as political theater and a legal nonstarter. Or what? Youre going to write us a ticket, he quipped on social media, underscoring the federal governments supremacy in immigration enforcement.
Newsom simultaneously promoted 21 new bills he claimed would protect Californians from Trumps Orwellian immigration tactics, a phrase clearly designed to inflame progressive activists and vilify federal agents. Essayli responded with open derision, writing, Governor, weve been through this already. If you want to regulate federal agents, you have to win a federal election.
He went further, emphasizing the constitutional limits on state power over federal operations. Until then, you have no jurisdiction, Essayli added. Accordingly, I have advised DHS to disregard your bill attempting to ban safe and effective less-lethal tools that agents need to escalate dangerous situations.
Among Newsoms measures are restrictions on shock gloves approved for use by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a 25% tax on private detention centers, which he boasted was the first such levy in the nation. The governor has also moved to expand public access to detention centers while tightening health, safety, and oversight requirements for civil detention facilities, steps critics see as part of a broader campaign to hamstring immigration enforcement rather than improve public safety.
Newsoms escalating confrontation with federal authorities comes as he openly flirts with a White House run while insisting he would defer to Vice President Kamala Harris. Why would I? I wouldnt do that to her. I wouldnt do that to you; I wouldnt waste everyones time, he told CNNs Jake Tapper, adding, Who needs that? For conservatives, the episode highlights a familiar pattern: a governor more focused on symbolic resistance to President Trumps immigration agenda than on respecting constitutional boundaries or prioritizing law and order.
Login